All Other Flange Types

Shutdown and Turnarounds Conference Asia 2014

his year’s Shutdown and Turnarounds Conference Asia 2014, which ran from 25th to 27th June, was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with Equalizer International as one of the main IQPC event sponsors. The STO conference delivers real-world case studies, discussion groups and workshops to Plant Managers and STO professionals from all over the world and provides excellent networking opportunities for both turnaround teams and solution providers.

The STO industry estimates about half of all shutdown projects are delayed by more than 20%; about 80% go over budget by more than 10% and, in some cases, work scope can increase unexpectedly by up to 50%. This year, on its return to Asia, the STO Conference looked at five main areas within the industry for ways to tackle the problems faced during shutdowns and turnaround activities. These areas included planning & scheduling; work scope and contractor management; cost control; health, safety & environment and maintenance & reliability and were aimed at helping managers improve their planning and execution processes, while learning how they can mastermind efficient shutdowns.

Not only was Equalizer a sponsor of the event, Operations and Training Director, Bob Stephen (above at his Q&A session) was one of the Process Safety speakers. Bob’s presentation centred round the role of new tooling in improving safety and flange joint integrity during shutdowns and was very well received by the attendees of the conference. It outlined challenges facing the industry in relation to flange joint maintenance and looked at some innovative tool solutions for addressing them.

Also at the conference was Petracarbon PTE Ltd, Equalizer International’s distributor for Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The two companies jointly exhibited at the conference displaying the full range of EqualizerTM products which proved to be extremely popular and attracted a sizeable number of visitors who were given a hands-on demonstration of the tools.

Equalizer International designs, manufactures and distributes flange maintenance tools world-wide through a global distributor network. The company’s comprehensive range of products includes flange spreaders, flange alignment tools and flange pulling tools in both mechanical and hydraulic form all of which are designed to offer a safe, quick and effective alternative to existing flange maintenance practices.